Saturday, July 21, 2012

"I am not afraid to let your light shine bright in my life" -Martyrs & Thieves


Going to see Judith on my mom's birthday

My trip to Gulu had been in the works for months. In order to visit my sponsor child through World Vision I had to get lots of clearances. Even once I arrived in Uganda I had to jump through hoops. To put it bluntly, I wasn't sure if this whole thing was going to pan out. After many phone calls and putting out the possibility of canceling the whole thing, I left early on Wednesday morning on the bus with my friend Susan. Susan is the woman who worked in my home while I lived in Uganda. In many parts of Africa, if you do not hire someone to work in your home, it is considered very rude. We are viewed as having money (and comparatively we all do) and therefore should provide someone with a much needed job. Enter Susan. Not only did I get to know her in those circumstances, but as many of you know, I had the privilege of teaching this woman in her late 30's to read. I look forward to getting to work with her more in the coming weeks. Anyway, Susan's family lives up near Gulu so she went up with me on the bus. It's not really safe for a white girl to travel by herself in these parts, so having Susan go with me was a huge blessing. The bus ride was fairly uneventful, except for the fact that we waited in it for 2 hours before it was full enough to leave. And except for the lady who struggled to get her things off and the bus kept driving as she hopped off with half of her stuff 1/2 a mile back down the road. They mean business!

Honestly, this trip worked out better than I could have imagined it.

Upon my arrival I was picked at the taxi park by World Vision. I was taken to their offices and shown around. I sat down with a lot of the people there to learn about what they are doing and where. They really seem to be doing a great job at what they set out to do. I was honestly dumbfounded at the dedication the young people who work there have. To get a job with them one either has to have an A level certificate or a Bachelors. Also, 80% of them are from that area of Uganda. It's great that they hire local people who know the language and culture and provide jobs for people who have worked hard!
They brought me to my hotel, made sure it was alright, then left. I walked around town for a bit buying gifts to bring out to Judith. Judith is the child that I sponsor. I chose her because she shares my mother's name. That was July 18th- my mother's birthday. I figured that if I couldn't be with my mom for her annual birthday celebration on Coney Island, the next best thing would be to spend it with Judith in Uganda. I found a lot of great things for Judith and headed back to the hotel with some food. When I got back there was no power, so I sat around until it was pitch black at which time the power came on. It's not safe to be wandering around town after dark so I enjoyed a good, relaxing read.

The next morning I was picked up early by World Vision staff for their daily morning devotions. It was an honor to sit around a large circle with about 20 Ugandans as they sang hymns and praised the Lord. They read a passage in 2 Samuel and lead a great discussion.  Afterwards I spoke more with some of the staff. They were impressed with how clear my English accent was and it made sense to them that I had lived in Uganda for several years. I was served some tea, maize and chapati for breakfast before we left. The maize (i.e. corn) is different here. It's boiled for about 60 minutes while it's still in the husk. Even though it is boiled for so long, it never really gets soft. When you bite into it the whole kernel comes off.

We set off for Judith's village and made it there in good time. We were ushered into the hut that is like their living room and talked for a while with Judith, her family and their neighbors. She is incredibly shy. I was told that she is timid around all adults, but really opens up when playing. She told me all about her favorite game, "7 stones" and I got her to set up a demonstration for me! I gave her the gifts that I bought for her, including school supplies, a backpack, food, a Bible (which I wrote a message in), and stickers (which she had never seen before). They were very grateful and gave me some items in return! I couldn't believe it! They gave me a large pot that is used for keeping water cool inside of homes. They also gave me a basket that is made locally and used for eating g-nuts and a clay bowl used for eating.

Then they served me food. Now thankfully I know this culture. I knew ahead of time that I would be offered food and could not turn it down. I didn't want them to serve me food, but it's just not an option here. So, I preemptively spoke to the people at World Vision. Judith's grandmother had actually already called asking what to make for the mzungu. They were amazing and even made me g-nut sauce without onions and tomatoes. They also had a special sauce that they add to their food after it's on their plates. It's made out of shea nuts. The food was delicious and we had some great conversations about what things are like in different cultures.


After the meal we went outside for some games. Some of the neighborhood kids had made a jumprope out of fresh grass while I ate! They asked me to try jumping. It was an epic fail on my part! I've never been good at jumprope. I did get a chance to play their game "7 Stones" however, and I did very well at that game. Very simple and lots of fun! After that Judith's grandmother gave me a huge bag of sweet potatoes to take home. I didn't notice it at the time, but the bag that it came in brought me great humor later. You can find a picture below :)

After hanging out for a long while and taking loads of pictures we went back inside and gave farewell speeches.

From there we took Judith to school in the truck. It's a 40 minute walk each way! We met the head teacher and went into her classroom. We were warmly greeting with a song and about 100 smiling faces. After a tour of the school we dropped Judith off near her home. She didn't seem to want to go. She didn't say much, but she was just so hesitant. She really seems like a sweet girl and I am so blessed to have gotten to meet her.

On our way back to the World Vision offices the road was blocked off. Some people had cut down some trees and put them in the road as a protest to try and get the road fixed! It really was very hard to pass even before, so I understand why. So we had to find a different way around, getting stuck in the mud along the way.

Before leaving the office to be taken back to my hotel I asked if I could leave some little money to help cover the costs of fuel. They wouldn't let me! It is a part of what they do. They told me that I could donate directly through World Vision if I wanted to, but that money doesn't pass through them. I truly honor their lack of corruption at that office. It's something to be treasured here.

I then had the chance to go and take some pictures for a small new non-profit up in Gulu and met some women who had been abducted by the LRA. The non-profit is training them to sew and also providing counseling for them! The pictures will be used for advertising their products to sell in the US. Thankfully I had my big camera and external flash.

That night I relaxed again at the hotel. This time I endeavored to watch some TV. I soon discovered that though each room had a TV, the hotel only bought 1 subscription for 2 channels, which actually ran out soon after I turned on the TV. It was rather amusing to have your TV set being controlled by someone hundreds of feet away!

In the morning I met Susan at the taxi park and we had an amazingly quick ride back to Kampala.
It was a short trip, but a blessing in more ways that I can describe.
God is GOOD.
The message I wrote to Judith being read & translated from the Bible

Some of the gifts given to me
Judith's Grandma and Me (with my sack of sweet potatoes)

Doing some routine checks on the village kids
Jumprope!

Judith and some of her family








2 comments:

LindaC said...

Wow, what a great experience, getting to meet your sponsored child. I also sponsor a child in Lesotho, Africa. I've sponsored her for the last 3 years through World Vision. I'm glad you are having such an awesome time. We are praying for you.

Tffny said...

love reading about your experiences Jean!! its super unique to read an account of someone who has actually visited their sponsor child- thank you for sharing!!! looking forward to hearing more- press on friend!